Nuciferine, an active ingredient derived from lotus leaf, lights up the way for the potential treatment of obesity and obesity-related diseases.
Pharmacol Res 2021;
175:106002. [PMID:
34826599 DOI:
10.1016/j.phrs.2021.106002]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Revised: 11/21/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Obesity, is an increasingly global public health problem associated complications. However, the proven anti-obesity agents are inefficient with adverse side effects; hence attention is being paid to novel drugs from natural resources to manage obesity and obesity-related diseases. Nuciferine (NF) is a high-quality aporphine alkaloid present in lotus leaf. Unlike the chemical drugs, NF elicits anti-obesity, anti-dyslipidemia, anti-hyperglycemic, anti-hypouricemic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor effects, and affinity to neural receptors, and protection against obesity-related diseases. The underlying mechanism of NF includes the regulation of targeted molecules and pathways related to metabolism, inflammation, and cancer and modulation of Ca2+ flux, gut microbiota, and ferroptosis. Besides, the clinical application, availability, pharmacokinetics, pharmaceutics, and security of NF have been established, highlighting the potential of developing NF as an anti-obesity agent. Therefore, this review provides a comprehensive summarization, which sheds light on future research in NF.
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